Ambulance calls up 12% in two years of 24-hour drinking

The number of binge drinkers demanding emergency medical help has soared in the past two years.

Figures today reveal the huge burden placed on paramedics since the introduction of 24-hour licensing, which the Government said would lead to a "café culture".

Emergency calls to the London Ambulance Service for alcohol-related incidents have risen by 12 per cent since November 2005, when the new law came into force, even though overall demand has risen by just three per cent.

In Tower Hamlets and Newham, East London, the figure was 25 per cent or more and in Kingston, South-West London, calls rose by more than a third.

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Last year alone, almost 39,000 binge drinkers were given emergency help, costing the taxpayer nearly £6.5million.

Paramedics have to deal with drinkers who have been stabbed in fights, vomit while unconscious or just demand a lift home.

Phil Nation, a paramedic in Camden, North London, where call demand has risen by seven per cent, said: "It is teenagers, students, workers - everyone is getting absolutely paralytic without a thought for their own safety. We are dealing with these people when we should be looking after people who are genuinely ill."

Russell Smith, deputy director of operations at LAS, said: "We are seriously worried by these figures. Drinkers are putting life-threatened patients at risk by tying up paramedics and ambulances.

"When people are really under the influence they seem to forget everything apart from the number 999 and just say 'come and take me home'. We try to screen out the callers who don't need us but it is not always possible."

Since all-day drinking was introduced, at least 3,000 premises have been given 24-hour licences, including 24 in Tower Hamlets and 12 in Newham.

Alcohol Concern said alcohol-misuse was costing casualty departments up to £500million a year, with 70 per cent of admissions after midnight due to drink.

"Too often, emergency services are left to pick up the tab," it added.

Health Minister Dawn Primarolo, said: "The Government is monitoring the impact of the Licensing Act - looking at every aspect from crime and disorder, sales of alcohol to children, cutting red tape and admittance of patients to A&E - and will make any changes that prove necessary."